Chapter 10
It had been a few weeks since Clark's close encounter with electricity and things were going swell; which told Kayla that something would happen soon. As she waited for Clark to get home, she helped Martha give the house a once over and when they were finished, the house was spotless and they were both exhausted. It still was only lunch time so Kayla thought she would hop over to the school to see how everyone was.
When she got there Clark seemed disgruntled about something.
"What's with the frown, farm boy?" She asked.
"We are supposed to write a six page biography about someone in class and Chloe, snoop extraordinaire, got my name." He said.
"That could be bad. Just give her the basics and no details." She suggested.
"This is Chloe we are talking about, Kayla." Clark said.
"Oh yeah, you're screwed." She replied smiling.
"Oh great!" She heard Chloe from behind her. "Kayla I would love to meet with you and ask some questions about you and Clark's relationship."
"I'm sorry but is my relationship with Clark your business?" Kayla instantly bristled.
"This is supposed to be a biography. I'm supposed to write about his life." Chloe said taking a step back.
"Well then here you go. We have been friends since before I can remember and now we are together. Did I miss anything?" She finished looking at Clark who shook his head. "I don't do interviews. Words get skewed then I get angry and friendships are ended." She turned back to Clark. "What name did you get?"
"He got Lana Lang." Chloe said gauging Kayla's response but found an empty void where emotion should be in the girl's eyes.
"Wow that should be fun and easy. You have been helping her with The Talon every night for the past few weeks so it should provide ample opportunity." Kayla said as the bell rang. "Well I had better get back to the farm to finish my chores. See you guys later."
"Is it just me or did that have not enough emotion?" Chloe asked.
"Leave it alone, Chloe." Pete warned as he saw Clark's worried eyes follow Kayla on the way out.
"I think someone is jealous." Chloe whispered back to Clark.
"She has Clark so why would she be jealous?" Pete said. "It's more like worried because we all see the way Lana looks at Clark even though she is with Whitney."
Later that day Kayla was walking to the Talon with Clark when they saw a big black guy talking to Lex.
"Hey Lex!" Kayla called waving at him as he walked over.
"Who was that?" Clark asked him.
"Nobody." Lex replied.
The rest of the walk was silent as Kayla felt Clark reach for her hand and she smiled to herself as her fingers laced together with his. This did not escape Lex's attention who just smirked but decided not to say anything. When they got there, Lana looked spooked.
"I hear we sprung a leak." Lex said and she simply nodded looking around.
"What's wrong?" Clark asked her.
"Just a little weirded out." Lana replied.
"Relax it's just a leak." Lex said.
"No a friend of yours came by." Lana said. "He applied for the assistant manager position. He told me to stay away from you."
Kayla's eyebrows rose. That sounded like someone who would have a grudge against Lex and not a friend of his.
"What was his name?" Lex asked.
Lana walked over to the counter and looked at the application.
"Jude Royce," She said. They all saw his face slowly empty of emotion as he looked at the name.
"What is it, Lex," Clark asked.
"When did he leave?" Lex asked Lana.
"Just before you came in." Lana replied.
Clark and Kayla followed Lex out as he rushed out of the Talon.
"Lex, who's Jude Royce?" Clark asked.
"Trust me, Clark, I don't know who Lana met today but it couldn't have been him." Lex said.
"Why is that?" Kayla asked. "How do you know that."
"Don't worry about it, guys. I'm not." He said getting into his car and when he turned it on music blared out of his speakers and he couldn't turn it off.
"Clark," Kayla whispered and Clark nodded. He used his x-ray vision to locate the CD player attached underneath the dash board.
"Looks like someone decided to get creative while I was inside." Lex said as a crowd gathered.
"What were the screams?" Clark asked.
"I assume it's someone's twisted idea of a joke." Lex replied. "And a successful one because we've managed to draw a crowd."
"Lex," Clark said but was cut off.
"Clark, this really doesn't concern you." Lex said before driving off.
"Don't you guys have something better to do than gawk like ugly fish?" Kayla asked as they still stared. "It's called a life and I suggest you people get one."
They glared but walked off. Kayla just looked at Clark who shrugged and said they should go back to the farm and Kayla nodded.
"Hello, is anybody home?" Clark yelled and Kayla followed him in.
"Hey pull up a microphone you guys." Jonathan said from the table and they both turned to see Chloe there and both Jonathan and Martha looked extremely uncomfortable.
"Hi, Chloe what's going on?" Clark asked bristling.
"Well since I couldn't find you," Chloe said, "I decided to start my biographical inquiry at the beginning. Unlike a certain so-called friend of mine, your parents gracefully agreed to be interviewed."
"Chloe's been asking us some interesting questions, Clark." Martha said looking to Kayla too seeming to plead for help.
"Thank you," Chloe said not getting the hint to back off. "Now we don't have many more to go so we were talking about the early days."
Kayla looked at Clark and motioned for him to do something.
"What was involved in adopting Clark?" Chloe asked and Kayla's eyes almost bugged out of her head.
"Well it was like any normal adoption, I guess," Jonathan said struggling to answer.
"Can you take me through the process?" Chloe asked and Kayla hit Clark on the arm. "Did it take weeks or months? Did you guys use a lawyer or did you go through an agency…" She said but was cut off by her tape recorder. "Shoot, I'm out of tape. That's ok, I have some extra C-90s in my car. I'll be right back."
Kayla followed her out while Clark explained the project to his parents.
"Ok, Chloe I have been nice about this so now is the time where I'm going to tell you to back the hell off with the insane questions." Kayla snapped as Chloe turned around.
"What are you talking about?" Chloe said.
"Did they use lawyers? There is a difference between writing a school paper and asking innocent questions like did he want a dog and then there is invading people's privacy about things you have no right to know." Kayla said. "Did you not see how uncomfortable his parents were? Or do you even care about anyone but yourself. This isn't a story for your newspaper and if you don't back off, your precious tapes will come up missing and end up ash in a random fire in the middle of nowhere."
"It's my job to get to the bottom of things as a journalist." Chloe said finding her tapes. "If that means bashing a few heads then so be it."
"Don't say I didn't warn you." Kayla said darkly before heading inside.
"Clark, while I've got you in my orbit, I have some pertinents for you too." Chloe said.
"Actually this is just a pit stop for me." Clark said. "I'm on my to meet Lana to work on my paper." Kayla's head shot up behind him and she rolled her eyes.
"You know, Clark, not to strike a paranoid note or anything but are you avoiding me?" Chloe asked.
Clark paused before answering, "Tomorrow, I promise." He flashed her his award winning smile before walking out. Chloe immediately sat down and faced his parents again.
"This isn't an official question or anything and I don't want you guys to take this the wrong way but has your son always been this strange?" Chloe asked.
"Okay," Kayla said snatching Chloe up by her arm. "I told you to stop with the questions. Now you can get out of the house." She said as Chloe grabbed her stuff and put her on the front porch and slamming the door in Chloe's face before locking it.
"You seem a little angry." Jonathan said.
"That girl doesn't know when to stop and she doesn't get that a school paper doesn't need every detail of someone's life. It's just a stupid paper." Kayla ranted.
"It sounds like you're angry over something else as well." Martha observed. "Could it have something to do with Clark interviewing Lana?"
"Maybe a little bit because she keeps toying with him and it pisses me off." Kayla said. "I'm going to go do my chores. See you guys for dinner. Do you want help, Martha?"
"That would be great dear!" Martha said standing up. "Just pop in after you're done with your chores and we will see what we come up with."
Kayla nodded as she walked upstairs to change.
As night fell, she finally finished her chores and still no Clark. She walked inside and heard the phone ring.
"Kent residence," She answered and was surprised to hear Clark on the other end. "Clark, slow down. What happened?" Her eyes widened as he told her the story about finding a hand at the Talon. "I'll be right there. Don't move." She looked at his parents. "Something happened at the Talon. I'll be right back." She rushed outside and took to the sky making it behind the Talon in record time.
"What happened?" She asked as she burst through the front door.
"Someone broke in, hurt the contractor, and left a package with a severed hand for Lex." Clark said. He walked over to Lana. "How are you holding up?"
"I was fine until… it showed up." Lana answered.
"Yeah, stupid question," Clark said and Kayla sat down next to him. He subconsciously put a hand on her knee which didn't escape Lana's gaze and her eyes widened slightly.
"What kind of a sick person would do something like that?" Lana asked.
"Someone seriously pissed off at Lex," Kayla replied.
"I've never seen him this freaked out before." Clark replied.
"Join the club." Lana said. "That guy warned me. He said everything Lex touches ends badly."
"I'd say the police need to find him." Kayla said. "Other than that, there is nothing else you can do, Lana."
"But how much do we really know about Lex and his past?" Lana asked.
"It's none of our business." Kayla retorted.
"It is if he is my partner." Lana shot back getting defensive.
"If you wanna stick your nose into something dangerous, that's fine with me," Kayla said standing up, "But when it comes back to bite you, I'll be the first one to say I told you so." She walked out back. Clark followed soon after. "Sorry about that." She said.
"Don't worry about it." Clark said coming up behind her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Kayla said not looking at him.
"If it's about the paper," Clark started and Kayla turned around.
"It's just me being stupid." Kayla said looking at him. "I see the way she looks at you and I can't help but feel jealous." Clark walked up and cupped her cheek with his hand.
"I don't see that at all." He said. "I only see you. Let's go home and see if Mom needs help with dinner." Kayla nodded and they raced back to the house, which Clark won of course.
The next day, Clark and Kayla were in the news room when Pete and Chloe burst in talking about some story involving Clark.
"What's going on?" Kayla asked.
"I'm not finished," Pete said. "Clark didn't just push braindead, he put him through a door as in splinters and broken hinges. How he did it, I still have no idea." Pete finished and Kayla felt her anger rising.
"Clark, any comments?" Chloe asked.
"Well we were 6 years old," Clark said stumbling. "Twice our size was 3 feet tall."
"If you need any more ancient history, ask the source," Pete said pointing to Clark. "I've got an appointment at the student store."
"Have fun," Chloe said turning to Clark. "And so the mystery that isn't Clark Kent deepens."
"Mystery?" Clark asked.
"Yeah," Chloe answered. "Since you continue to play obstructionist, I've had to find information through other means." She picked up a folder. "For instance, I found that your adoption was done through Metropolis United Charities but this is the strange part: they were in business for six months and from what I can tell yours is the only adoption they handled."
"I can't believe you did this, Chloe." Clark said getting angry.
"You didn't know?" Chloe asked and Kayla scoffed. "I just assumed your parents would have told you. Weren't you interested?"
"Why would I be?" Clark's voice started rising. "My biological parents are either dead or didn't want me." Kayla felt her heart breaking for him. "The point is you are prying into my private life."
"I was just trying to be thorough." Chloe tried to defend herself.
"This is a class project!" Clark yelled. "I spent an hour yesterday with Lana and that's it. That's all I needed. I'm not some mystery for you to solve." He said before storming out.
"I told you so," Kayla said walking up to her. "Is this about some class project or Chloe's personal project? If it's personal, I'll find out and everything you found will magically disappear." She hissed into Chloe's face. "You're too busy getting your dumb story to even see you're hurting your best friend! I'll leave you to think about that." She walked out after him leaving Chloe dumbstruck.
"Clark!" She yelled after him. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to the site of the original shooting at Club Zero because Lex may be in trouble and it has to do with this club." Clark said.
"You're going to Metropolis?" She asked.
"First I'm going to find Lex. I heard he is at his gym." Clark replied. "I don't want you hurt so why don't you stay here?"
"Like that is going to happen," Kayla scoffed. "I'm going and you know it."
When they got to the gym, they heard voices and one was Lex's and the other neither of them recognized.
"What the hell is going on?" Kayla whispered and Clark shook his head meaning he didn't know. They both heard a gun click and rushed inside to see someone holding a gun to Lex's head about to shoot. When they found Lex, however, he was alone.
"Lex," Clark said running in with Kayla in tow. "Are you all right?"
"Clark, Kayla what are you guys doing here?" Lex asked walking up to them.
"Your office told me you were here." Clark replied and Kayla just nodded and played along.
"We thought we heard someone else." She said carefully.
"No, I'm all by myself." Lex said and Kayla instantly knew he was lying.
"Hey I looked up Max Kasich." Clark said walking over to where Lex sat down. "I know what happened at Club Zero and that he was shot and killed Jude Royce. Everyone fits into this except you."
"What's going on, Lex?" Kayla implored. "We can help you."
"Please, you two," Lex pleaded. "For our friendship, I'm asking you to stay out of this. Some secrets are better left alone."
"And others grow enough to kill you," Kayla said. "If you need us, you know where to find us. Come on, Clark." She said standing up and they walked out and went home.
"Guys," Jonathan called from the goat field. "The cows aren't gonna feed themselves. Did you have a late night?" He asked Clark as Kayla went into the barn to do her shoveling and cleaning of the stalls.
"I was helping Lana." Clark replied quietly. "To her credit, she's not gonna let the whole body part incident delay the opening of the Talon."
"That's what happens when you get into business with somebody like Lex Luthor." Jonathan said.
"If it wasn't for Lex, the Talon would be a parking garage." Clark defended the man.
"Son, he casts a very, very long shadow," Jonathan said sighing. "I just want to make sure none of you kids get hurt, that's all."
"The past is in the past. The best we can do is look to the future." Clark said.
Jonathan chuckled. "All right, you got me." He admitted. "Speaking of that, how's Chloe's paper coming along? I assume she is done with her interviews?"
"I'm not sure but Kayla has gotten a hold of her a few times trying to get her to back off." Clark said.
"She's very protective of you. She knows what happens when your secret gets out." Jonathan said. "She doesn't want you hurt and she cares for you a lot. That's rare. Don't lose it."
"I don't plan on it." Clark said.
"If she mentions anything to you about peas, I'm sorry. It's the first thing that came to mind." Jonathan said.
"And if she mentions anything to me about the Metropolis United Charities?" Clark asked.
"I used to think perseverance was an admirable quality." Jonathan stated plainly.
"Since I learned the real truth, I hadn't thought about the adoption." Clark admitted and neither of them saw Kayla coming up behind them. "Dad, Chloe told me the agency you used was only open six months and I was the only kid adopted."
"Look son," Jonathan started. "The process is a really tough one even when you go through normal channels. With you, it was just a little more complicated, that's all."
"Is everything legal?" Clark asked as they started walking.
"Yeah, it's legal, it's just… well it required a higher level of access than your mother or I had." Jonathan said and Kayla was immediately suspicious.
"What does that mean?" Clark asked.
"Let's just say it's a long road between what's sitting in our storm cellar and what's written on your birth certificate." Jonathan said. They turned and saw Kayla looking past them and then Jonathan noticed what was wrong too. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Clark asked.
"It's too quiet." Kayla stated as they walked over the hill to check on the cattle.
When the crested the hill, Kayla covered her mouth as a scream tried to make its way out. There were all the cows in the herd dead and on the ground. Jonathan ran and immediately called the police. Kayla just stood there as tears made their way down her cheeks and Clark put his arm around her.
"Who would do this?" She asked. "They're just innocent animals!"
"I don't know but I don't like this." Clark said as he saw a barrel with Luther Corp.'s name on it. He led her back to the house.
A few hours later, the CDC and Hazmat were there and so was Chloe just clicking away on her camera.
"Why would LutherCorp dump their stuff here?" She asked as they saw a Hummer pull up and Lex got out. "I'm going to go take pictures from some different angles." Chloe said running off.
Clark saw Lex and just looked away. He still had his arm around Kayla who had since stopped crying but had been silent the rest of the time.
Lex walked up to the Kents. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent, I have no idea how this could have happened but I'll do everything in my power to find out." He said. "And I'll pay for your livestock, of course."
"You think that's how you solve everything, don't you, Lex?" Jonathan asked rudely. "You sprinkle a little money on it and hope the problem goes away. Well, obviously, some things are a little more difficult than that." He said before walking off.
"I didn't think it was possible to fall any further in your father's eyes." Lex said as Clark and Kayla walked up behind him. "Obviously, I was wrong. I'd never intentionally allow something like this to happen."
"Does this have anything to do with Club Zero?" Clark asked.
"I think so." Lex answered.
"You need to tell the authorities everything you know. This isn't just about you anymore." Clark said and Kayla nodded.
"Those were innocent animals and we had nothing to do with whatever the hell happened those few years ago. So, either you fix it, or you never come here again." She stalked away and Clark gave Lex an apologetic look.
"Don't worry about it. She's right. Because of me, your cattle were slaughtered. I will pay for them I promise." Lex said. Clark nodded and walked away over to his parents and Kayla as they talked to the sheriff.
When most of the cops left, Kayla walked back to the house and shut herself up in her room and wouldn't answer to anybody. She loved animals more than anything and seeing that had upset her more than any one had ever seen her. After a few hours, she saw Clark walking to the barn and decided to follow him.
"Hey," She said softly causing him to turn around.
"Hey," Clark asked. "How are you? I know this upset you pretty bad."
"I'll be fine. I just hate seeing animals like that." Kayla said. "It reminds me of what people, mainly scientists, would do to us if they found out about us." She added as she sat down on the stairs that led to the loft and Clark said down beside her. She leaned into his chest and instantly felt a little better.
"Hey guys," They looked up to see Chloe. "Can I talk to you for a second?" They both got up and started up the stairs. "How are you doing?"
"That depends if it's on the record or not." Clark said.
"Okay, I deserve that." Chloe admitted. "Look I didn't mean to ambush you with the whole adoption agency thing."
"You saw a story and you went right for it." Clark said with sarcasm. "That's what journalists do."
"You're right but Kayla said something to me that made sense. I was more obsessed with the story than if I was actually helping or hurting you." Chloe said and Kayla turned around. "I'm dropping the whole thing because I would rather have friends than a subject."
"Thank you," Clark said and Kayla nodded in agreement.
"Can I ask you a question?" Chloe asked. Clark gave her a look and she laughed. "Totally off the record, I promise. Do you ever wonder about your biological parents?"
"Every day of my life." Clark admitted and Kayla leaned her head on his shoulder.
Chloe looked down. "Looks like I'm not the only one who has been digging." She said as she picked up the article about the death at Club Zero. "What's Club Zero?"
"It's part of Lex's past he asked me to stay out of." Clark said.
Chloe chuckled. "Oh! By the way, I brought by some pictures for your parents." She said reaching into her bag. I figured they could use it for insurance purposes and stuff. I'll see you later. I gotta go." Chloe said.
Kayla and Clark looked through the pictures until something in one of them caught both their attentions.
"Chloe!" Clark called as they checked one man against the picture in the news article. "It's the same guy."
"But he's dead." Kayla said and they all looked at each other. They all rushed to the school to the news room and Clark continued to try and call Lex.
"Still no word from Lex," He said once again hanging up the phone. "No one's spoken to him since this morning."
"I pulled our alleged dead guy's license. It's registered to a John Smith. That's original." Chloe said. "He has an address in Metropolis and does not work for the C.E.P."
"How'd you do that?" Kayla asked looking it over.
"I hacked into the DMV database." Chloe said. "See, sometimes persistence is a good thing!"
"Call Metropolis P.D." Clark said. "Have them go to that address." He looked at Kayla and she knew where they were going.
"What's going on?" Chloe asked.
"I think Lex is in serious trouble." Clark said as he and Kayla left. "Okay you can fly so I'll run to Club Zero. We'll meet up there." Kayla nodded and took to the sky thankful no one was around to see.
Once Kayla made it to Metropolis, she started asking around until someone finally told her Club Zero was shut down and an abandoned warehouse now. She asked for directions and headed there. Clark was waiting for her.
"He stored Kasich at his apartment." Clark said. "I think they are both in there."
"I thought everyone said this place was closed down six months ago." Kayla said. "There's music coming from inside."
She saw Clark concentrating. Then he looked at her. "There's a skylight on the top of the building."
"I've got you." She said as she took off and waited for Clark to come crashing in. She saw him go in and then she jumped through breaking the glass to the skylight and landed just in front of the guy who had just shot Lex. "How are you doing?" She said as his eyes widened at her appearance.
"What are you?" The man asked.
"Let's just say I'm Lex's guardian angel and you have pissed me off!" She said as she punched him before Clark threw him across the room into a pole. He ran her down stairs as she pulled her wings in and fixed her one eye and they both acted like they had just found the place.
"Lex!" They both yelled as they ran inside.
"Get down!" Lex yelled. "There's a man with a gun up there."
"Where?" Kayla asked as they kneeled next to him. "You mean that guy?" She asked as they both looked up to see him unconscious. "What happened?"
"I don't know." Lex said. "How'd you two find me here?"
"You went missing and we knew this club was haunting you so we guessed and got lucky." Kayla said and Clark nodded. The police arrived a short while later and Clark and Kayla gave their statements before heading home. Once they were there, Clark pulled Kayla aside.
"The Talon's grand opening is tonight." He said. "I know how you feel about Lana but would you want to be my date?" He looked nervous and Kayla laughed.
"I would love to. Let's get changed and we can head over." She said as they walked upstairs.
They arrived and the place was packed. Lana saw them, smiled, and walked over.
"So, what do you think?" She asked.
"I'm definitely surprised." Clark said and Kayla nodded.
"I like it, Lana. It's great." Kayla nodded and smiled.
"Where's Chloe?" Lana asked.
"She said she wanted to be fashionably late." Clark said and Kayla rolled her eyes. Go figure. "I got this for you." Clark said and pulled a present out from behind him. "Don't worry; it's not a body part." She ripped the paper open. "It was in the attic. Kayla found it and it was my grandfather's." Clark said.
"I figured you would appreciate the history of it." Kayla said and Lana hugged her.
"This is great," She said to Kayla. They looked up as something broke. "I'd better get back to work."
"How does it feel?" Clark asked and Lana whipped around.
"Terrifying." She answered. "Don't tell anybody."
"Your secret's safe with us." Clark said as he put his arm around Kayla who waved bye.
They were walking around looking at everything when a voice came from behind them.
"I get the feeling you two are avoiding me." Lex said.
"I just realized there's a lot I don't know about you." Clark said and Kayla only nodded.
"You think my dark past is gonna rub off on you?" Lex asked.
"No, but I think there is a lot in your past that could put people in danger." Kayla said. "I mean no offense by that but we need to be careful because another even like this could get more people killed."
"I was trying to protect my friend, Amanda." Lex said. "My father wouldn't raise a finger to help her but I knew he'd do anything to save his only son."
"So you took the fall and everything was covered up?" Clark asked.
"Is that the truth, Lex?" Kayla asked.
"The truth is," Lex said not blinking. "I'd do anything to protect my friends."
Clark and Kayla nodded. "I say let's go home." Clark whispered into Kayla's ear. She yawned and agreed. They spent a relaxed night in front of the TV unaware of them being watched.
"I found you at last, baby," The man said. "I'll be damned if I let you go again."